1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foldable stroller. More particularly, it pertains to a foldable stroller having an enhanced rigidity and a reduced width.
2. Background Art
Various strollers for taking a baby out for a walk or shopping have been proposed and used. The strollers can be folded as needed for easy keeping and carrying.
When a conventional stroller is viewed from a front thereof, the legs of the stroller are perpendicular to the ground. Since such a constitution deteriorates a rigidity of the stroller, particularly in the right and left direction thereof, it is sometimes difficult to stably operate the stroller. In a so-called tri-fold stroller that has a smaller width when it is folded, a lot of pivot portions are needed, which further deteriorates the rigidity of the stroller. Although a stroller having a high rigidity is desired, such a stroller has problems in that the stroller has a heavy weight, and folding such a stroller is inconvenient because many operations are required therefor.
In view of the above problems, a stroller has been proposed, in which a pair of right and left front legs and a pair right and left rear legs are inclined such that both a space between the front legs and a space between the rear legs widen (increase) as the legs extend downward (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-182588, for example).
In a stroller disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-182588, front legs and rear legs are inclined such that spaces between the front legs and the rear legs widen as the legs extend downward. Thus, when the stroller is used, a load is applied in such a manner that the spaces between the front legs and the rear legs are widened, whereby the stroller can have an improved rigidity.
However, since the front legs and the rear legs are inclined such that the spaces between the front legs and the rear legs widen as the legs extend downward, the width of the stroller at a lower leg-end thereof is increased. Then, such problems may arise in that it is inconvenient to use the stroller in a crowded place, and that the unfolded stroller cannot go through a ticket barrier or the like.
The stroller disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-182588 has an X-shaped link disposed between the pair of front legs and the pair of rear legs. In order to fold the stroller, the X-shaped link brings the pair of front legs and the pair of rear legs close to each other toward a center of the stroller in the width direction thereof. Thus, the folded stroller is compact not only in a back and forth direction but also in a right and left (width) direction. However, in order to reduce the width of the stroller, when inclinations of the respective legs are reduced too much, the stroller cannot be folded because members of the link disposed between the pair of front legs and the pair of rear legs may contact the front legs and the rear legs.